UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. — The player who was wild off the tee is finding fairways since he began working last year with Chris Como. But enough about Jamie Lovemark, the former Southern California star who has played his way into contention in his United States Open debut with rounds of 70 and 68 for a two-under-par 138.

One of Como’s other students, the three-time champion Tiger Woods, missed his second cut in this event in 19 starts with rounds of 80 and 76 at Chambers Bay Golf Course. Woods’s score of 16 over par left him tied for 150th place. Over the two days, Woods, 39, hit 16 of 28 fairways and 21 of 36 greens. His driving average was 297.5 yards, and he averaged 32.5 putts.

“On a golf course like this, you get exposed,” Woods said. “You have to be precise and dialed in, and obviously, I didn’t have that. Obviously, I need to get a little better for the British Open, and I’ll keep working on it.”

Woods won the most recent of his 14 major championships in 2008, at the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. He has won 79 PGA Tour tournaments, the most recent of which was a World Golf Championships event 22 months ago. Asked earlier in the week what he had left to achieve in golf, Woods replied, “More wins.”

But never in his career has his game seemed so far from championship form. This year, Woods has more scores in the 80s (three) than in the 60s (two). Since September 2013, Woods has one top-20 finish (and three missed cuts and three withdrawals) in 16 official Tour starts.

Woods’s only scheduled start before next month’s British Open at St. Andrews is the Greenbrier Classic during the Fourth of July weekend.

“He’s Tiger Woods, he’ll figure it out,” said Lovemark, whose driving accuracy has improved significantly since he began working with Como a little more than a year ago.

“We’re still doing tons of work on my driver,” Lovemark said, adding: “Chris understands how the body works, he knows what tons of great players have done in the past. We just try to incorporate that into my swing and kind of whatever worked for me in the past, because I went through a few swing changes myself.”

EMPTY GALLERY A handful of volunteers not only had the best seats in the house on the eighth hole, they also had the only seats.

The hole is encircled by steep hills and uneven terrain, which prompted tournament planners to close it to spectators for safety reasons, according to a United States Golf Association public-relations official.

The meant golfers would not be playing in front of large galleries. Jordan Spieth described the feeling as “eerie.”

Only the top row of the grandstand on the neighboring seventh hole had a decent vantage point. Nonpaying spectators watching from the street, more than 250 feet away atop a hill, also had a view of the hole.

“I hit a wedge shot in there to five feet, and there were two people clapping — the volunteers,” said Daniel Summerhays, who is three under par. “So the two people were clapping, so I knew it’s got to be O.K.”

Summerhays parred the 614-yard par-5 hole each day.

“I have more fun probably when you’re making putts and people are going crazy for you,” he said. “But golf is golf, whether you are playing alone or in front of thousands of people.”GERALD NARCISO

MAKING A NAME Brian Campbell did not have a Wikipedia page as of Friday night, but the amateur is making a name for himself at the U.S. Open.

On Thursday, Campbell shot a three-under 67, including seven birdies, finishing two strokes behind the leaders.

“I just wanted to treat it like any other tournament, not really think too much of it being the U.S. Open,” Campbell, 22, said.

Campbell competed in last year’s Open at Pinehurst, missing the cut by one stroke. He recently graduated from the University of Illinois, where he was an all-American. Athleticism runs in the family. His father, Don, a native of Quebec, played professional hockey in Europe. His brother Derek was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2014.

“It’s been pretty surreal, actually,” said Campbell’s father. “But he plays well, and he likes tough courses, so we’re not overly surprised.”

Campbell continued his strong play Friday morning. After back-to-back birdies on the second and third holes, including a spectacular 23-foot putt on No. 3, his gallery grew to 100 from his 10 family members and friends. At one point, Campbell was five under par, but he then struggled to a 72 and was one under for the tournament.

Though some of the marquee names on the tour have corporate logos on their clothes and equipment, Campbell was using a slightly haggard orange-and-blue Fighting Illini golf bag.

The last amateur to win the U.S. Open was John Goodman in 1933.

“I’m just trying to stay focused on what I am doing. I mean there’s a lot of golf left to play,” Campbell said. GERALD NARCISO

A version of this article appears in print on , Section D, Page 5 of the New York edition with the headline: Unknown Pupil Shows Promise as a Star Fades. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe